Ms SCRYMGOUR - 2002-08-22
Minister, can you advise what steps your department is taking to improve the health of indigenous children in remote areas?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, what an excellent question. I know that the member for Arafura is particularly interested in indigenous health, and that she will be very happy with the things that I am going to be talking about.
Children throughout the Northern Territory are something which are a priority for us. We have a lot of things in this excellent budget, which the Treasurer has brought down, for children: child-care subsidies, extra things like that; and extra officers for child protection. However, particularly in the indigenous area we have a very special initiative. We have allocated $2.2m this financial year to employ multi-disciplinary teams of health professionals to maximise child health outcomes in remote areas. There will be 25 staff employed additional to the 75 nursing positions we are creating over the term of this government. These teams will be located at centres throughout the Territory, including Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and Nhulunbuy. The teams of health professionals will be specialists in the area of child health. They will concentrate their efforts in remote communities, bringing skills in hearing, nutrition, skin disease and other childhood infections, speech pathology and the like.
Only last week, the Australian Medical Journal reported that 50% of children in remote areas of the Northern Territory are partially deaf due to chronic ear infections. Two weeks ago, I visited the community of Ramingining. I was very surprised and, I must say, very saddened to learn that staff at the health centre …
Mr DUNHAM: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The minister’s question is almost a direct lift from her speech last night and I think she is being repetitive. For members who are interested they could go to page 60 of last night’s Hansard and get almost the same answer.
Madam SPEAKER: I wish members of the opposition would stop raising these points of order regarding answers. You know that as long as answers are relevant to the question …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, thank you.
Mrs AAGAARD: Thank you, Madam Speaker. As I said before, I was very surprised and saddened to learn that staff at the health centre had just completed the first systematic screening of school children in 10 years. Staff informed me that, of the 115 children screened, 95 required follow-up treatment. That is 83% of children requiring some form of medical treatment. I must say, it is horrific to think that, in the 10 years before this screening was undertaken, children would have passed through the school system without having been screened once. Among the health problems detected at Ramingining were two cases of early renal disease, one of rheumatic heart disease, six children with heart murmurs, several cases of trachoma, and numerous children with skin infections and worms, both of which are implicated in adult chronic disease. 48% of the children were also anaemic.
The fact that this screening was not undertaken in 10 years was not the fault of the current, or even past, staff of the centre. It is simply that they lacked the resources to do it. In fact, I have to say how impressed I was with the professionalism and dedication of the health staff and their determination to prioritise child health in what can only be described as very difficult circumstances.
One of the major issues confronting remote health centres, as this House knows, is the recruitment and retention of skilled staff. At Ramingining, we are now fortunate to have three highly skilled and dedicated nurses who will now have the resources to undertake these sorts of screening programs and receive excellent back-up. I am also pleased to be able to inform the House that in this year’s budget, $140 000 has been allocated to the Ramingining clinic to undertake much needed renovations to improve their working conditions. Again, these renovations are very much long overdue.
With the additional resources provided by the specialist child teams, our staff in remote communities will now have the support and resources they need to properly monitor the health of our indigenous children. Early detection of disease can allow for preventative treatment that can head off some of the long-term consequences that are at the heart of poor morbidity and mortality rates we are witnessing today.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, what an excellent question. I know that the member for Arafura is particularly interested in indigenous health, and that she will be very happy with the things that I am going to be talking about.
Children throughout the Northern Territory are something which are a priority for us. We have a lot of things in this excellent budget, which the Treasurer has brought down, for children: child-care subsidies, extra things like that; and extra officers for child protection. However, particularly in the indigenous area we have a very special initiative. We have allocated $2.2m this financial year to employ multi-disciplinary teams of health professionals to maximise child health outcomes in remote areas. There will be 25 staff employed additional to the 75 nursing positions we are creating over the term of this government. These teams will be located at centres throughout the Territory, including Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and Nhulunbuy. The teams of health professionals will be specialists in the area of child health. They will concentrate their efforts in remote communities, bringing skills in hearing, nutrition, skin disease and other childhood infections, speech pathology and the like.
Only last week, the Australian Medical Journal reported that 50% of children in remote areas of the Northern Territory are partially deaf due to chronic ear infections. Two weeks ago, I visited the community of Ramingining. I was very surprised and, I must say, very saddened to learn that staff at the health centre …
Mr DUNHAM: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The minister’s question is almost a direct lift from her speech last night and I think she is being repetitive. For members who are interested they could go to page 60 of last night’s Hansard and get almost the same answer.
Madam SPEAKER: I wish members of the opposition would stop raising these points of order regarding answers. You know that as long as answers are relevant to the question …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, thank you.
Mrs AAGAARD: Thank you, Madam Speaker. As I said before, I was very surprised and saddened to learn that staff at the health centre had just completed the first systematic screening of school children in 10 years. Staff informed me that, of the 115 children screened, 95 required follow-up treatment. That is 83% of children requiring some form of medical treatment. I must say, it is horrific to think that, in the 10 years before this screening was undertaken, children would have passed through the school system without having been screened once. Among the health problems detected at Ramingining were two cases of early renal disease, one of rheumatic heart disease, six children with heart murmurs, several cases of trachoma, and numerous children with skin infections and worms, both of which are implicated in adult chronic disease. 48% of the children were also anaemic.
The fact that this screening was not undertaken in 10 years was not the fault of the current, or even past, staff of the centre. It is simply that they lacked the resources to do it. In fact, I have to say how impressed I was with the professionalism and dedication of the health staff and their determination to prioritise child health in what can only be described as very difficult circumstances.
One of the major issues confronting remote health centres, as this House knows, is the recruitment and retention of skilled staff. At Ramingining, we are now fortunate to have three highly skilled and dedicated nurses who will now have the resources to undertake these sorts of screening programs and receive excellent back-up. I am also pleased to be able to inform the House that in this year’s budget, $140 000 has been allocated to the Ramingining clinic to undertake much needed renovations to improve their working conditions. Again, these renovations are very much long overdue.
With the additional resources provided by the specialist child teams, our staff in remote communities will now have the support and resources they need to properly monitor the health of our indigenous children. Early detection of disease can allow for preventative treatment that can head off some of the long-term consequences that are at the heart of poor morbidity and mortality rates we are witnessing today.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016